i have dragon fruit. i would like to trade for camellia senensis.

I'm about to try starting some Piper nigrum from seeds. I see this thread keeps popping up on the topic. I ordered some seeds online. I halfway expected red berry like seeds (ripened seeds, not fully dehydrated). What arrived was something that looked identical to black peppercorns from the spice bottle from the grocery store. The seller of these seeds says they are viable, so I'll give them a try. Other than warmth and humidity, are there any special requirements. I plan to soak them overnight before planting them. Is that a good idea or not? Then I plan to put them in small peat-pots with seed starting mix. I was thinking maybe mix in a bit of sand as well, and cover the seeds with a very light layer of just sand (about 1/8 inch or so, just covering the seeds). I'll keep those peat pots in a small plastic "seed starting greenhouse" that I have. To keep the humidity high in that, I was going to put some gravel on the bottom, and put a bit of water in the bottom. I don't want the seed pot sitting in water, because I'm guessing it wants drained soil/starting mix, but I also want the humidity high. I have a heating pad to keep the thing warm (about 80F, which should be fine, right?), and I'll have it under red/blue (mostly red) LED grow lights on a timer. How long do Piper nigrum seeds take to germinate? days? weeks? months?

Bumping UP! Here is your piper nigrum!

I don't (yet) have specific experience with piper nigrum, but my ginger and turmeric and super dwarf banana plants thrive under the red-blue (mostly red) led grow lights. I've tried Phillips Agro lights (incandescent reflector 'flood' lights), various T8 and T5 "grow lights" and I haven't found any that my plants (especially the tropicals) really thrive under. They sometimes do OK if the bulb is really close to the plants, but if you have the light what looks like 'normal' distance above the plants, all my plants seem starved for light with the fluorescent or incandescent lamps. You can find the LED light bulb units online for $20-$25 or so. Look for E26 base or 'medium base,' so they fit a standard light socket. I use those bulbs in the clamp on light sockets you get at home depot for $8 or so for work lights, or some old (antique) floor standing "reading lamps" I got at the thrift store. I've had great results with PAR 38 size LED units from ABI lighting (12W and 18W) and Apollo Horticulture (claims 24W, but actually closer to 15W), and I've heard good things about Taotronics. If nobody is looking at the things, all of those bulbs are great for the plants. Plants don't care if the light is "funny looking" to humans. If it's where people see it, you might want one like the ABI 18w unit, with some white in the mix. Those are (slightly) less 'funny looking' to people. My plants don't care, but for the one I have in the living room on display, I use the bulb with the white in the mix. I'm about to try starting some piper nigrum from seed (I couldn't find cuttings at a reasonable price), and I'll be using one of my LED grow lamps (on a programmable timer set for sunrise and sunset times for 23.5 degrees north latitude) , a heating pad under the seed starting pots initially. From what I've been told, Piper nigrum needs warmth (temps over 70F are ideal, under 65F can be harmful), and also needs high humidity. My tropicals spend the winter in a heated area that also has a hot-plate with simmering water on it (refilled daily).